Pope Leo XIV to Visit Zaña, Peru, Hub of Afro-Peruvian Community and Slavery History, as He Prays for End to Violence

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Peru to be serenaded by Susana Baca, a Latin Grammy-winning Afro-Peruvian singer. Baca was Peru’s first Black Cabinet minister and is a leading figure in the campaign against discrimination against Black Peruvians and Indigenous peoples.

Reports note that Leo, who was born in the United States, has family ancestors who were enslaved people and slave owners. He is expected to visit Zaña on Saturday and lead a prayer meeting at the sanctuary of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo. Zaña is a hub of the Afro-Peruvian community and of its history with the slave trade.

In his first encyclical, “Magnificent Humanity,” Leo apologized for past popes legitimizing slavery and failing to condemn it for centuries, a willingness to own failures left unaddressed for generations (Luke 12:48). According to the report, an estimated 100,000 African slaves were brought to Peru after the Spanish conquest, and at one point they and their descendants made up more than 40% of Lima’s population. The 2017 national census reported 1,311 people residing in Zaña identify as Afro-Peruvian, while the figure for the Lambayeque region was 78,639. Baca said Afro-Peruvians have learned to forgive despite their history of suffering.

A separate report described Leo’s Saturday visit to the region he once served. He prayed for an end to the violence ravaging Peru and celebrated a special ritual at the cathedral in Chiclayo, where he entrusted his pontificate to the Virgin Mary. Leo served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 until 2023. He then traveled by helicopter 150 kilometers (93 miles) from downtown Chiclayo to Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, at an altitude of 2,035 meters, to minister to former flock members in remote areas.

That report placed the visit within a broader picture of rising crime. Peru’s homicide rate nearly doubled over the past five years, from 5.8 to 10.7 per 100,000 people. According to official data, reports of extortion rose from 2,421 in 2019 to 26,734 in 2025. Conservative Keiko Fujimori took office in July after promising to combat crime.

Peru recorded 1,261 femicide victims between 2016 and 2024.